


Life is a Trip

by prettypurpleflower



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-09 23:20:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2001906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettypurpleflower/pseuds/prettypurpleflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Kurt and Sebastian go on vacation together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Camping

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Kurtbastian Hiatus Project 2014
> 
> Week 3: Vacation

The first time Kurt and Sebastian went on vacation together, they had been forced.

Although it had only been a year for most of them since graduation, a few of the Warblers had the wonderful idea that it was time for a reunion. With Blaine and Jeff leading the way in childlike enthusiasm, of course. Their friends hadn’t even given Kurt and Sebastian the opportunity to say no, which meant they were now stuck on a camping trip with a handful of boys who knew camping only out of movies.

‘This is horrible.’ Blaine grimaced and swatted at empty air. ‘All those bugs and mosquitoes and what not.’

Kurt scowled at him, hands on his hips and standing even straighter than usually.

‘Are you serious? This was your stupid idea and now you are complaining?’

‘I didn’t expect it to be so… I imagined less bugs and less dirt, okay?’ Suddenly he screamed, staring at his arm with terror in his eyes, where a big, black insect had landed. Sebastian snickered and leaned back in his folding chair. This was so entertaining, he could almost forgive Jeff and Nick for telling him he should wait here with Kurt and Blaine because he’d only be in the way while they put up the tents. Almost.

Rolling his eyes, Kurt took a step forward. He carefully plucked the insect up and set it on the ground.

Blaine stared at him with his eyes opened comically wide and his mouth agape.

‘You just touched that… that thing?!’

‘That _thing_ was a bug. A tiny living being which, I guarantee you, was more afraid of you than vice versa.’

‘I’m sure that’s impossible,’ Sebastian grinned, earning himself a deep glare by Blaine.

Kurt huffed before he sank onto the chair next to Sebastian, who wasn’t finished poking fun at Blaine, yet.

‘Such a display of masculinity. I feel so vindicated in my attraction to you when we met.’ His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Blaine’s cheeks and ears turned a dark red.

‘It was a huge bug,’ he murmured stubbornly. Irritated, Kurt snatched Sebastian’s bottle of beer out of his hand and took a deep sip.

‘Not helping your case, Blaine.’

When he looked up he realized Sebastian and Blaine were staring at him, his ex-boyfriend again resembling a deer caught in the headlights. He cleared his throat.

‘I’ll go help the others. I’m sure they need… they need a hand with those tents.’ Then he hurried away.

‘Who knew…,’ Sebastian whispered disbelievingly.

One eyebrow raised, Kurt turned towards the other boy. ‘What?’

Sebastian licked his lips. ‘Nothing. Just thinking.’

‘Then let’s hope you don’t hurt yourself.’

\---

It had taken longer to put the tents up than the boys had hoped for and in the end, they had in fact needed Kurt to coordinate the whole debacle.

By now all of them were getting tired and were more than happy to just sit down around their little campfire to relax.

‘I have to say, Blaine, this was a fabulous idea. Exactly the right way to have our own little Warbler get-together,’ Trent said cheerfully. Kurt and Sebastian both glared at him.

‘What I don’t get… Why would we go camping? We were a show choir, not boyscouts.’

‘But Kurt! You always told us to think outside the box and try some new things!’

‘I was thinking about song choices and the people who get solos when I said that.

‘Why are you so against camping anyway?’

‘Because unlike you, I have been camping before. I knew it would be dirty, cold and I would end up being the only one who could get anything done.’

‘Hey, at least you were wrong about it being cold.’

Sebastian snorted. ‘Wait till it’s night and you’re trying to sleep in one of those tents.’

‘Don’t tell me the great Sebastian Smythe has gone camping before.’

The answer was a miserable sigh. ‘Imagine a brochure selling sports goods. Know those middle-aged couples that are just beaming at the camera because they’re so happy to be out camping? And wow, look, only thing making them happier are those fantastic raincoats they’re wearing since now they’re able to go hiking even if the weather is super shitty.’ He made a pause to give his friends a suffering look. ‘Well, that’s how my parents are.’

Kurt snatched two bottles out of the cooling bag behind him, impressing the others by using one to open the other. Then he offered the open bottle to Sebastian, who took it with an intrigued look on his face. ‘My sympathies. On the other hand, who would have thought that there would come a day when Sebastian Smythe turned out to be the least spoiled in a group full of rich prep-school boys,’ Kurt smirked. In turn Sebastian winked at him.

‘See, camping brings people together.’ Jeff grinned at them happily, content again with the world.

\---

After a while, one after another they started heading to bed, still laughing quietly but their heads too heavy with exhaustion, until only Kurt and Sebastian remained behind.

While he slid over to take the seat next to him that had previously been occupied by Trent, Sebastian looked at Kurt contemplating.

‘You’re not at all what I expected. I never thought you have that many manly qualities. Opening bottles without an opener? Seriously hot.’

Kurt only rolled his eyes.

‘How come everyone has some expectations and I have to suffer under them?’

‘Unlike Blaine’s horrible expectation that camping is a sterile way to have fun, it only benefits you that I was wrong.’

‘Uhhh, wow, it finally got through your thick skull that I’m not a box and therefore have more than four sides. Yay me!’ His tone was dry and bored, so Sebastian decided to change the topic. For now.

‘How many of those did you have?’ Sebastian nodded towards the empty bottle standing at Kurt’s feet. Kurt shrugged.

‘Three. I’m not drunk if that’s what you’re getting at.’

‘So, tipsy Hummel means bitchy Hummel?’

‘No, that’s just you bringing out the best in me.’

‘I’m trying here. Can’t you show at least a tiny bit appreciation?'

‘Well, you’re a _tiny bit_ less insufferable than I thought. Happy?’ The corners of Kurt’s mouth turned up, though, betraying his amusement.

They were silent for a moment. The air had turned gradually colder since the sun had set, but the fire still kept them pleasantly warm. Maybe being so close helped as well, even though Kurt wasn’t sure when the space between them had disappeared. Or who of them was responsible for it.

Slowly Sebastian leaned forward, until his lips touched Kurt’s. They stared at each other, barely moving. Sebastian closed his eyes and pressed forward slightly. In an attempt to deepen the kiss, to turn it into something real, more than this almost accidental connection between them, he opened his mouth. However, Kurt put his hand on Sebastian’s chest and pushed him back a few inches. He was still staring at Sebastian calculatingly, not caught by any magic of the moment.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m pretty sure I was trying to kiss you.’ Kurt didn’t laugh.

‘And you thought that was a good idea after basically telling me you never found me attractive,’ Kurt stated as Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

‘Are you going to judge me forever for not seeing your magnificence the moment we met?’

Kurt started chewing softly on his bottom lip. Okay, maybe he was being petty. He probably shouldn’t expect everyone to always act according to his wishes.

Hadn’t he himself criticized Sebastian because he had had too many expectations in Kurt’s opinion? Sebastian was human. Allowed to be wrong or right or just think differently than Kurt. Most of all, he was allowed to change his opinion. No reason to let Sebastian off the hook that easily, though.

‘So, you want a kiss for coming to the fantastic realization about eight hours ago that I’m not a girl.’

‘There’s a huge difference between thinking of you as a girl and not realizing you’re scorching.’

Kurt huffed out a laugh. He turned his gaze towards the campfire that was still crackling before them, even if its size had shrunken considerably. ‘You’re kind of an asshole.’

Sebastian nudged Kurt’s shoulder with his own, a huge grin on his face. ‘At least only kind of.’ His expression turned more serious. ‘I don’t get why you’re still so uptight sometimes. You live in freaking New York now. Time to be wild and unpredictable. Make a few wrong decisions. Just because you feel like it.’

‘Let me guess, you would be such a wrong decision?’

‘Who knows. Why don’t you just find out?’

Kurt drew Sebastian back towards him. This time they were both moving, arms wrapping around each other, lips and tongues connecting. Their noses bumped together awkwardly, but in that moment neither of them cared. Out of the blue Kurt broke the kiss again.

‘I don’t want a relationship.’ Sebastian grinned hungrily.

‘As if you could read my mind, babe.’ Then they were kissing again.


	2. Road Trip

The second time Kurt and Sebastian went on vacation, it was out of necessity. And it couldn’t even be called vacation, even if their friends and family said it was. Really, spending days trapped together inside the tiny space of a car could be considered a modern version of torture, certainly not vacation.

It wasn’t even that they were still enemies. Far from it, actually. But their shared activities usually involved far less time to talk and often at least a tiny amount of alcohol.

Kurt kept tapping his finger on the steering wheel, while his gaze was focused strictly at the road without even acknowledging Sebastian.

‘Tell me again, why are you driving?’, Sebastian asked, trying to quell his urge to hit Kurt’s hand until he stopped the annoying tapping.

‘Because I don’t trust you enough to let you control something that could kill me.’

‘Fun, you don’t trust me with your car but with your dick.’

Kurt’s knuckles turned white as he was gripping the steering wheel tighter and tighter.

‘I thought there was a silent agreement _not_ to talk about this?’

‘Was there? I thought you’d know by now that I’m not so good at being silent.’

‘How did this get so out of hand? It was supposed to be a one-time thing.’

‘You only said you don’t want a relationship. It’s not my fault I’m so good you keep coming back for more.’ Kurt gave him a dirty look.

‘I’ve never met anyone as shady as you.’  
‘Thank you.’   
‘It wasn’t meant as a compliment. You couldn’t drive my car anyway, it’s a stick shift if you hadn’t noticed.’

‘I actually got my license for cars _with_ stick shift. Again, thank you so much for having such a high opinion of me,’ Sebastian clenched his teeth and kept looking stubbornly out of the window. Kurt’s anger deflated, but he didn’t apologize.

 —-

The longer they kept driving, the more uncomfortable they seemed to grow. Neither of them could really explain it. They had spent time together before, had talked before. But something about knowing there was no way out for the next two days made them both feel like caged animals. On edge and ready to attack.

In that moment, Kurt couldn’t help but curse his dad and Carole. Why did they have to decide it would be a good idea to take a short vacation in San Francisco? He knew giving them his car was for the best, he didn’t use it nearly as much as it deserved since he lived in New York. But if they had stayed in Lima, without planning to use _his_ car for their own little road trip starting in San Francisco, he would never have ended up stuck in a car with Sebastian Smythe of all people. It was still a mystery to both of them how their parents had managed to become such good friends anyway. All of a sudden Sebastian interrupted his thoughts.

‘How long has it been since we had sex?’

Taken aback by the question, Kurt started counting in his head. The last few days had been a mess.

‘Eh… about… six days? Maybe a week?’

Sebastian groaned. ‘No wonder I’m horny like hell.’

‘Don’t forget irritable. I know what you mean, though. Why didn’t you just go out and find someone else?’

‘I was too stressed with the preparations for this useless road trip to fuck you and you expect me to go through all the trouble of finding someone else? I don’t think so.’

‘Makes sense, I guess.’

‘Sense doesn’t make me less horny.’

The tension between them was almost palpable and Kurt wondered if it wouldn’t be better to park the car and take a break. The road had been empty for more than an hour now thanks to some questionable shortcut Sebastian had claimed to know like the back of his hand, but Kurt still didn’t want to take the risk of driving with as little concentration as he could muster right now.

He slowed the car down considerably, directing it more and more towards the field on the side of the road.

‘If I stuck my hand into that bag on the back-seat… I wouldn’t find any lube, would I?’

‘Is my name Sebastian Smythe? Because I heard he never leaves without condoms and lube.’ Sebastian smirked suggestively, the excitement at getting his way obvious.

 —-

‘Can’t you get your leg a bit higher? This is so uncomfortable.’

‘No, I can’t. This is a car, it has a roof,’ Kurt snapped.

‘Stop being sarcastic, you’re not helping. How about… try to put your legs down, stretch them out and I lie on top of you?’

‘Didn’t you tell me five minutes ago to get my legs up because this car is too small to stretch them out?’

‘Oh, shut up.’ Sebastian bent down and pressed his lips back on Kurt’s, who was still fidgeting under him to find a more comfortable position. Finally he stilled, throwing his arms around Sebastian’s neck and letting the kiss take over all of his emotions.

At least that’s what he tried. After a few minutes he broke the kiss. Annoyed, Sebastian huffed. ‘What is it now, babe?’ Kurt, however, only pursed his lips at him.

‘There’s something poking my thigh and I’m pretty sure it’s not your cock like it’s supposed to be. It’s the stick shift. And it hurts.’

In an effort to sit a bit straighter, Sebastian leaned back and promptly hit his head on the roof of the car. He smirked incredulously, not able to believe things could possibly go so wrong.

‘This is not going to work, is it?’

‘Definitely not. To be honest, I don’t feel like it anymore anyway.’ Kurt sighed deeply.

‘That’s what I get for not putting a stop to this,’ he muttered to himself. However, being only inches apart still, Sebastian understood him quite clearly.

‘If this whole arrangement is such a horrible concept for you, why did you even let it happen? You shouldn’t throw all your principles overboard just because I’m a sex god.’

‘Don’t flatter yourself. I just… I agreed because I wanted to prove to myself that I could be fun, too.’ Sebastian looked at him with sympathy in his eyes, then he spoke softly.

‘You’re actually a lot of fun. Don’t sleep around thinking it would make you _more_ fun.’   
‘Look at us, having a serious conversation. Seems we really don’t need to have sex.’ It was a terrible attempt at a joke, but Kurt wasn’t ready to take this conversation any deeper.

_You matter. Don’t sleep around._

Kurt smiled. Sebastian probably didn’t want to hear that he sounded like his dad.

‘I guess not. But it helps. Natural relaxant and all that.’

‘You’re not that bad, you know.’ Sebastian grinned broadly.

‘Wow, from _sort of an asshole_ to _not that bad_. That’s what I call progression.’

‘Don’t ruin it, Sebastian.’

‘Well, what’s there to ruin if you stop fucking me now?’ Putting his hand on his forehead and throwing his head back dramatically, Sebastian made clear he didn’t believe Kurt would want to stop.   
‘Whoever said such a preposterous thing? Maybe I started it because I wanted to be fun, but I haven’t stopped, yet, because it feels fantastic. And I’m always incredibly calm.’

Sebastian smiled as he kissed Kurt gently. ‘Works for me.’

 —-

 ‘Are you looking forward to seeing your parents?’

Somehow, since they had started the car again, they appeared to have left most of their negative feelings behind and talking peacefully came much more naturally now.

‘Yeah. It’s kind of weird, though. I haven’t seen them in so long now. Since I moved to New York, actually. And when I went to Dalton, I never saw them anyway.’

‘Why did they send you to Dalton, though, when they were living in San Francisco?’

‘Tradition? My dad went to Dalton, so did my grandpa. You get the picture.’   
Kurt clicked his tongue. ‘Sending their gay son into the most homophobic environment imaginable because of a stupid tradition? Not exactly how I imagine loving parents.’   
‘Hey, no, stop. They do love me. At first they didn’t even want to send me there, but… I might have been a troublemaker and after I got almost expelled from my previous high school, they decided that perhaps, Dalton wouldn’t be a bad idea.’  
‘You, a troublemaker? Never would have imagined that,’ Kurt smirked. His expression softened.

‘Sorry for being so mean before, by the way. Usually no one knows how to drive my baby here. It’s actually why I decided to get it with a stick shift. I wanted people to leave me alone about my car.’   
Sebastian shrugged. Even though he had taken it personally earlier, it didn’t matter now. Kurt couldn’t have known that he had gotten his license in Europe.

‘So… eh… How about after the next break we change places and you drive?’

Sebastian looked up surprised. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Well, it’s not like I can really drive over 40 hours by myself. We’ll have to take far less breaks if we switch sometimes. And since you can actually drive my baby, we would be stupid not to take advantage of it.’

 —-

Sebastian’s arm was lying casually on the armrest between their seats and whenever Kurt reached for the stick shift, their hands touched so feather-light it could have been mistaken for an accident. They weren’t holding hands. After all that was something only people in a relationship did. Which they weren’t. Even if both of them secretly hoped the other one wouldn’t notice that those touches lingered much longer than you would expect an accident to last.

‘One day I’ll have to show you Paris.’ Sebastian leaned his head against the cool window and smiled contently.

‘Why Paris?’   
‘I don’t know. It’s grand and small, extravagant and cozy, modern and romantic. All of it at the same time, depending on where you go,’ Sebastian explained breathlessly, his memories obviously making his chest swell with emotions. Then he added quietly, ‘You remind me of it.’

‘You sound like you have actually been there. I always thought you were only blowing some little vacation out of proportion.’

‘No, I… I basically grew up there.’

‘Oh,’ Kurt whispered. He was silent for a moment. His eyes, wide with almost childlike curiosity, flickered to Sebastian and back to the road again. ‘And you’d really want to show me?’

‘Yeah, I do.’


	3. Paris

The third time Kurt and Sebastian went on vacation together was coincidentally the first time they actually wanted to.

Somehow Sebastian’s _One day I’ll have to show you Paris_ happened a lot sooner than both of them expected. To be perfectly honest, Kurt hadn’t expected it at all. It had sounded so much like an empty phrase, something you said off-handedly but never worked to make it come true. However, Sebastian had turned it into reality. He had claimed it was a gift to Kurt for actually putting up with him for four month already. Kurt had only looked at him confused.

‘Why four month? Why not six?’  
‘Couldn’t wait that long. It wouldn’t have been significant in two month.’

‘What’s more significant about four months than six?’

It was hard to be sure because of the dimmed lighting, but Kurt could have sworn he saw a faint blush creeping onto Sebastian’s cheeks.

‘Last week you told me you love me.’

 —-

 Arranging a vacation on such short notice had to have cost Sebastian a fortune, Kurt realized. That he gave up control completely and let Sebastian plan everything made matters only worse for him.   
It made him feel giddy inside. Nervous. How long had Kurt dreamed of going to Paris? Practically since he knew that it was a city all about fashion and love. What more could he want? And now his boyfriend, who had _grown up_ there, would show it to him.

Where would Sebastian take him? What wonderful little secrets did Sebastian know about Paris? Kurt’s head was brimming with ideas. He couldn’t wait.

 —-

 Kurt groaned. His feet hurt, he was exhausted and somewhere between the Louvre and Notre Dame Paris had stopped making him feel any excitement.

This wasn’t how he had pictured a romantic vacation with his boyfriend. He opened his eyes again.

Sebastian smiled at him politely, not appearing tired at all.

‘Did you like it so far? I know it’s a lot to take in, but we really didn’t have more time to spend there. We have a full schedule, just how you like it.’

‘It’s… great.’ Kurt stopped, searching for the right words. ‘You know how much I love arts. And Notre Dame… Very impressive.’

‘Oh god, you’re disappointed. You don’t like Paris.’ Sebastian looked crestfallen, as if Kurt had crushed his whole world with words he hadn’t even said out loud. No reaction could have made him feel guiltier.

‘No! It is great. I did like everything we’ve done so far.’

‘You don’t need to lie to make me feel better.’ Sebastian turned his head away and if he didn’t know it better, Kurt would have guessed he did it to hide tears.

‘I’m not lying, Bastian! Have I ever given you the impression that I lie to make anyone feel better?’  
‘But I’m not blind, Kurt. If you liked it, why would you look so disappointed now?’

Kurt took Sebastian’s hand in his. As he waited for his boyfriend to turn his gaze back towards him, Kurt took a deep breath. This was the man he loved. This whole vacation was planned in celebration of their love. There was no need to worry. Sebastian would understand.

‘It’s nice that you showed me the Eiffel tower and the Louvre and Notre Dame. I just thought… it’s all so impersonal. Those are the tourist attractions. I’m not disappointed by Paris, I just hoped you’d show me… _your_ Paris.’ Sebastian frowned.

‘My Paris?’

‘You grew up here. What was your favorite place to hang out after school? Where did you get coffee? Did you have a special little corner shop where you always bought gifts for people? You know, _your_ Paris.’

‘Oh.’ A certain spark in Sebastian eyes, which Kurt couldn’t have described even if he tried, made it clear to him that Sebastian understood exactly what he meant.  ‘I didn’t think you’d be interested in seeing any of that. It’s nothing special.’  
‘Of course I’m interested! Hypothetically speaking I could come to Paris any time with a city guidebook and it’d tell me to see the Louvre, Champs-Élysées and Notre Dame. Right now I’m here for us. Your Paris is obviously close to your heart, so it couldn’t be more interesting or special to me as well.’

—-

As Kurt stretched out his legs before the park bench he was sitting on, he took in his surroundings. A little fountain bubbled not far from them, he could hear the birds chirping and the weight of Sebastian’s arm on his shoulder couldn’t feel more comfortable. Smiling nostalgically, he huddled closer to his boyfriend.

‘Remember the first time we had sex?’ Confused, Sebastian raised an eyebrow.   
‘You mean when we had the brilliant idea to have sex in a forest with our friends sleeping right next to us? Bugs everywhere and we were too tipsy to consider anyone’s feelings besides our own.’

‘At least we made it to your tent. Their faces when they found us the next day… priceless!’

‘If you wouldn’t have turned off my alarm they would have never felt the need to look for us. To be honest, seeing Blaine’s reaction was worth it, though. The whole remaining trip he kept looking at me like he didn’t know whether to be confused or angry.’ Kurt shook his head slightly in fond exasperation at Sebastian’s proud expression.

‘Why did you ask? It’s not exactly a romantic memory,’ Sebastian said, curiosity evident in his voice.

‘But it’s what got us here. If I hadn’t reacted like that to you calling me uptight, we wouldn’t be sitting here today, enjoying the Parisian sun.’

‘Weird how that backfired.’  
‘What did?’  
‘When I told you to be wild, I wanted you to agree to some hot no strings attached sex. Instead you made me settle down.’ Kurt looked at him incredulously.

‘I _made_ you settle down?’

‘How else would you describe what happened?’ Holding his nose high into the air, Kurt pursed his lips playfully arrogant.

‘I didn’t do anything at all. You clearly couldn’t resist my charm and fell madly in love with me.’

‘Emphasis on mad,’ Sebastian teased him.

They held each other’s gaze, caught by the moment. Suddenly they both burst out laughing.

‘Thanks for today, Bastian. Seeing your elementary school and the little café… It suits you. Like this park here. I can literally imagine how you would run here after school and do your homework while lying in the grass.’ Sebastian made a grimace.

‘Only because maman showed you my old photo album, which I’m pretty sure I hid after the last time she got it out.’

‘Oh, stop it. You were an adorable child. And you love that your mom and I get along so well.’

Sebastian shrugged, but Kurt didn’t need any more confirmation. Every time he met Sebastian’s parents, he swore it was so extraordinary he would never be able to forget a second of it.

‘So… Tomorrow. Touristy stuff or more boring parks and cafés where I used to hang out? Your choice.’ Without taking any time to think about it, Kurt answered. For him the choice was clear.

‘More of your Paris, please.’

Sebastian hesitated. ‘There is one tourist thing I have planned, though. We don’t have to do it if you really don’t want to, but I already reserved some tickets before I found out you don’t want to do that stuff. But if you give it a try, I’m sure you’ll like it.’  
‘Stop beating around the bush! What is it?’  
‘Dinner on a bateaux-mouche. A boat ride on the Seine. It’s breathtaking when the sun sets and the city starts turning on the lights.’

Kurt felt so overcome with emotions, for a moment it made him almost dizzy. He wanted to hold onto Sebastian, grip tight, but he just rested his head on Sebastian’s shoulder. Somehow something he had considered a mistake for months had turned into the most magnificent thing imaginable. Swallowing dry, he breathed, ‘I’m sure I’ll love it.’


	4. Cabin

The fourth time Kurt and Sebastian went on vacation together had been planned by their parents, who had been unreasonably excited to spend the holiday season together. Not that Sebastian and Kurt were complaining.

Even if it was still awkward for Kurt that Mr. and Mrs. Smythe had insisted he should begin calling them by their first names - months ago, but it just didn’t get easier. Especially since Kurt would never forget the moment the most imposing man he had ever met, towering over him in a suit as expensive as the cars of some of Kurt’s classmates, told him to call him Charlie. _Because Charles sounds so stiff, don’t you think?_

While Sebastian of course acted as if he didn’t have any qualms about doing the same for Burt and Carole, Kurt knew he secretly shared his hesitation. Burt had never needed a suit to be intimidating, after all.

‘We’re so happy that Sebastian has finally found someone. And it’s even someone like you.’

Kurt frowned. Someone like him? He had always gotten along with Sebastian’s mom, but _someone like you_ still gave him a bad feeling.   
‘Stop acting like my relationship is a week old. It’s two years now. You’ve met before, remember?’ Sebastian whined. Although she started petting his head, which Sebastian just didn’t have the heart to stop, she ignored his words.

‘You’re smart, polite, handsome,’ Julia gushed to Kurt, ‘Strong enough that you won’t take Sebastian’s tantrums. I love him, he’ll always remain my little baby boy, but I’m not blind. He can be awfully difficult.’

Sebastian’s expression turned scandalized.

‘See, you’re being difficult right now. And that’s why I have to tell Kurt every time I see him how grateful I am that he put up with you for two years already.’ Time and time again Kurt had suppress a laugh when he realized once more how much Sebastian resembled his mother when they both grinned.  
‘Yeah, I know, maman. Always butter them up before they can think of running away, right?’  
‘Pssst, petit lapin. Don’t give away all our secrets.’ She winked at Kurt.

 —-

 ‘You are so disgusting.’ Kurt shook his head at Sebastian, who was lying on the couch with a plate resting on his stomach.

‘Mhm, whatever. This is too delicious, it’s taken all the fucks I had to give.’

‘What’s so delicious about cold leftover steak?’

‘It’s steak. And it’s leftovers. It’s like, leftovers are always better than fresh food,’ Sebastian explained, his tone full of awe.

‘And why do you have to eat it with your hands instead of using cutlery like a normal person?’  
‘Told you, it’s leftovers. They’re supposed to be eaten with your hands.’

‘And here I thought I was the son of the mechanic and you’re the stuck up son of rich people,’ Kurt teased him, knowing full well that Sebastian’s parents had always tried to keep the money from going to their son’s head. More or less successfully at times, admittedly.

Sebastian snorted while he kept on chewing. In Kurt’s opinion it was a small wonder how his usually so handsome boyfriend could make himself that unattractive with such ease.

‘What? Why do you keep staring at me like that?’

‘I’m searching for the guy who wore a tie for dinner on a bateaux-mouche and behaved like he learned an etiquette manual by heart.’ Sebastian smirked.

‘Well, you can’t compare that. They don’t serve leftovers on a bateaux-mouche.’

Putting his head in his hands, Kurt moaned. Sebastian was a lost cause.

 —-

‘You should have seen yourself! How you fell head first into the snow!’

Sebastian gasped for air but couldn’t calm his laughter.

His boyfriend sent him a miserable glare, which wasn’t even half as impressive as usually since his hair was still dripping wet; little droplets kept running down his face and beneath his jacket down into his clothes. ‘You look like a drowned rat!’

‘You are so caring, what would I do without you?’  
‘Spend your days bored and unloved.’

‘Of course, keep telling yourself that.’

Sebastian walked up to Kurt. He ran a hand softly through Kurt’s wet hair, slicking it back out of his face. Then he started opening Kurt’s thick down jacket.

‘Let’s get you out of those clothes. You go have a nice hot shower, get warmed up. Take all the time you want and when you’re finished, I’ll be waiting here with some hot chocolate and a preheated blanket. How does that sound?’  
‘Hot chocolate with cream?’  
‘As if I’d ever withhold your cream from you.’ Sebastian smirked gently.

‘Can we try skiing again tomorrow?’, Kurt asked shyly, fluttering his eyelashes.

‘Naturally. When we go home you’ll be one of the best skiers around.’  
Kurt raised himself up on his tiptoes and gave Sebastian a soft peck right on top of his nose.

 —-

‘It’s a beautiful tree.’

‘Self-cut down is always better. Terribly satisfying,’ Charlie nodded proudly.

With a frown Kurt turned towards his own dad.

‘You shouldn’t have helped, dad. Do you always have to strain yourself like that? Think of your heart. I can’t believe you!’

‘My heart is fine, kiddo. It’s the least I could do since we got invited to this cabin here. You could have done it if you had been here. It’s not my fault you preferred to go skiing.’

Finn coughed and all eyes focused on him. ‘Are you okay?’

‘They weren’t skiing.’ Burt blinked surprised.

‘Of course they were. That’s where they said they were going this morning. It’s not like there’s much around to sneak out to.’

Wearing his typical _caught in a hard place_ expression, Finn stared into thin air. Sebastian was only able to look at him confused.

‘Where do you think we were? Because _I’m_ pretty sure we were skiing.’

Finn’s gaze flickered nervously to their parents, before he leaned forward slightly and whispered, ‘I saw you lying in the snow. And you were kissing.’

A second it was dead silent, then everyone began to laugh. Carole smiled at her son fondly but with a hint of exasperation.

‘Finn, darling. They’re 21, I’m sure they’re free to kiss whenever and wherever they want.’

Julia nodded. ‘Especially since they’ll get married sooner or later. It’s just a matter of time.’

All of Sebastian’s blood drained out of his face. ‘Married?’

‘Calm down, petit lapin. It was a joke.’ Finn looked back and forth between them confused. ‘Why do you call him petit lapin? What’s it mean?’ he asked, his pronunciation obviously awkward. It didn’t even seem to occur to him that his question might have been disrespectful; nobody pointed it out to him, though.

To his surprise it was Kurt who answered.   
‘As a child Sebastian always kept running from everyone. When his parents tried to catch him, he’d just sidestep them. That’s why he’s called little rabbit,’ he explained, his tone affectionate. Looking at Burt, Julia only mouthed _married_ , making him nod. Even if he had been more than suspicious of Sebastian in the beginning, he’d long since gotten used to the fact that this seemed to be it for Kurt.

‘You two might refuse to think about it, but fact is we only got the idea of celebrating Christmas together because we knew at least one of our families would have to do without their son if we tried to keep it separate,’ Burt said, only half joking.

Kurt and Sebastian looked at each other and it was clear to everyone else in the room that in this moment, for the couple nothing existed except themselves.

‘Either way, it’s one family now.’


	5. Beach

The fifth time Kurt and Sebastian went on vacation together, they didn’t even consider it a possibility to go alone or with anyone else.

When Kurt had come home one evening, throwing himself on their couch face first and mumbled about needing a break, Sebastian had spontaneously said, ‘Let’s go on vacation. It’s been two years since our last. I want sand and ocean and cocktails.’

‘A beach? Are you insane? It’s not sand and ocean and cocktails. It’s sunburn and sunstrokes and sand everywhere. Have you seen my skin? It’s a terrible idea.’

Laughing Sebastian kneeled next to where Kurt was still lying on the couch. ‘Yeah, I’ve seen your skin. Every inch of it.’ Softly he pressed a kiss behind Kurt’s ear.

‘I’ll set an alarm, when it goes off we’ll drink a glass of water. And I’ll make sure we never stay too long out of the shadow. So, no sunstrokes. There’s sunscreen, with which I fully intend to massage you. You know how thorough I am. You won’t get sunburn. And sand everywhere? Really? That only means showering together. To, you know, make sure it’s definitely gone.’

Kurt wasn’t fooled for one second by his boyfriend’s innocent grin. Still, he couldn’t help but smile coyly back at him.

‘I guess that means we’ll have to look for a flight.’

 —-

 When Sebastian opened his eyes, there was a bottle of sunscreen being waved right in front of his face.

‘I remember you promised me a massage,’ Kurt said with an expectant look on his face. Sebastian didn’t move.

‘As far as I remember you already got one two hours ago.’

‘There’s so much sun, I’m sure it should be reapplied.’  
‘Do you really think so? I just read on the flight here that reapplying sunscreen doesn’t actually make you safer.’

‘Hm… Maybe we should do it anyway. Better safe than sorry. Wouldn’t you agree, love?’

Finally Sebastian took the bottle and pushed Kurt gently back onto his stomach.

Suddenly he gasped. Alarmed Kurt’s head jerked up, awkwardly twisting it back in an attempt to see what was so shocking about his back.

‘What? Am I burned? Did something bite me? I didn’t feel a bite.’

‘No, you’re…’ Sebastian tenderly stroked his fingers down Kurt’s back, his touch feather-light on Kurt’s hot skin.

‘You’ve got freckles,’ he whispered. The tension left Kurt’s shoulders and he put his hand back on his arms.

‘Weren’t you the one who said you have seen every inch of my body? Those freckles have always been there.’

‘No, they haven’t. There are new ones. Millions and millions of them.’ He bent down and started slowly kissing his way all over Kurt’s back, pausing at every tiny new freckle.

Kurt giggled. ‘What are you doing? It tickles!’

‘Your body changed. I’m getting to know it again.’

 —-

 Sebastian leaned back against Kurt’s chest and put his hands on the ones already resting on his stomach.

For a moment they were both quiet, enjoying how the setting sun bathed the sky, the clouds, the sand in bright oranges and reds. Even the ocean, touched by the sun, seemed to be aflame. It was too brilliant, too breathtaking for them to put into words.

‘For a relaxing holiday this turned romantic really fast, don’t you think? Far more than even Paris,’ Kurt said quietly, breaking the silence.

‘In Paris I was still trying to impress you.’  
‘What? By now you just stopped caring what I think of you?’ There was no need for Sebastian to look up, he knew Kurt was raising an eyebrow at him mockingly.

‘No, I just… I just know now that this is real. It doesn’t matter if you like the color of my tie or if you’re mad at me for buying the wrong type of lettuce. What matters is that you love me. The rest is just… surface. Like the ocean’s surface can be stormy, but deep down it remains calm and sure.’

‘It’s funny how everyone always assumes we’re the sort of couple that constantly fights or that we show our love through fighting. None of our friends seem to realize how sappy you are deep down.’

Sebastian laughed quietly. He turned his head a bit to the side, burying his face in the crook of Kurt’s neck. The familiar scent made a new wave of contentment wash over him.

‘It’s all your fault. I was perfectly happy with being the mean and sarcastic one-night stand guy before you came along and… and just turned me.’

‘Turned you? Like I’m some vampire?’

‘Exactly. I’m pretty sure it started with a bite, so…’

Kurt snickered. ‘You’re incorrigible.’

‘You love me.’

‘Always, like the ocean. The same way you love me.’

‘I never changed consciously for you, you know? It was never _For this to work I need to stop sleeping around and I need to be a bit nicer and I need to stop being myself_. When I fell in love with you, being near you filled me with so much happiness that I literally forgot to be a sarcastic bitch.’ Kurt swallowed heavily. That was so much more than Sebastian usually revealed, even if he had his more than mushy moments from time to time.

‘Don’t act like you’re not still a sarcastic bitch.’  
‘Well, you can’t be with me 24/7, can you?’

‘Why haven’t we talked about marriage, yet, Bas? I’m sure people have already started placing bets.’

‘I don’t know. In my mind it’s been inevitable but not urgent for some time now. Especially since we’re both still awfully young. There came a point from which on breaking up was ridiculous. So it didn’t matter to me if you proposed today or I proposed tomorrow, I guess. Probably what four years together does to you.’

‘There’s a lot that doesn’t seem to matter to you.’

‘I just finally got my priorities in order.’

‘And they are?’

‘Happiness. Love.’ Sebastian looked back at the ocean. By now the sun was almost fully gone and the sky was baring its dark blue color, speckled with thousands of tiny sparkling stars. He grabbed a handful of sand and let it run through his fingers slowly. Then he grinned up at Kurt cheekily.   
‘And vacations.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's it for this little mini-series. I hope you had as much fun as I had writing it. I do have a few other stories in the works and I know I still owe you people the second half of 'All It Takes Is All You've Got'. Maybe we'll see each other there, thanks for reading :)


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